Egypt army says 14 militants killed in Sinai

CAIRO – Egyptian troops have killed 14 jihadists in shoot-outs in the restive Sinai Peninsula, scene of an insurgency since the ouster of Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi, the army said on Sunday.

It said that 47 people were arrested in the clashes on Saturday that state news agency MENA said broke out near Sheikh Zuwaid in north Sinai. Also on Saturday, four children were killed when a mortar round crashed into their home in El-Joura, a suspected bastion of Islamist militants.

Officials said that the mortar attack apparently targeted soldiers and police combing the area for militants who had shot dead two senior officers.